A small mining town avoids the truth behind what plagues a trans community in this prize-winning debut told through the eyes of a young girl, as a myth entrenched in prejudice penetrates beyond words.
Battles bigotry with both vengeance and compassion… embodied by a committed cast of trans and genderqueer performers in leading roles.
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo 2025
La misteriosa mirada del flamenco
Love can be a dangerous game, and words can spark the wildest of rumours. In a remote mining town in 80s AIDS-era Chile, 11-year-old Lidia floats through the lives of the trans women who reside in a communal house, banished to the desert. Despite their exile, celebration, empathy, and support are staples of the household. Each woman cares for another, exemplified by the powerful matriarch Mama Boa.
Lidia and her elegant mother-figure, Flamingo, share a particularly formidable bond. However, as an incurable disease spreads through the area, so does a myth akin to witchcraft-like which brands trans women as predators, accused of hunting men to contaminate them through a single gaze.
With strong Western themes, a Morricone-esque score, mixed with magical realism, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo develops through unspoken acts, and unorthodox situations. Full of humour, compassion, and tragedy this debut feature from Diego Céspedes’ won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes this year. — Huia Haupapa